When Nick Collins, founder of Sartoris Digital, looks back at his rich work history, it’s hard to imagine him doing anything outside of technology-based work. His unique insight, motivation, and depth of knowledge all provide big-company digital marketing resources to smaller players, giving them a leg up in a competitive economy.
Tech Has Been Woven Throughout His Life
Collins has always enjoyed natural ease with technology. As a child in the 1980s, he had access to a computer of his own and dreamed of a career in 3D animation. He enjoyed flexing his creative skills with animation software while also enhancing HTML capabilities, fusing the two with the kind of confidence common among youth, though he credits his father and grandfather for setting him on the path to where his company, Sartoris Digital, is today.
“I grew up in a home where tech was a big thing before it was a big thing,” said Collins. “I got started very young because of my father and grandfather. They were my biggest influencers from a young age. My father was into tech and computer architecture, and my grandfather was more old-school. They both brought something unique to my upbringing.”
Collins couldn’t have asked for better timing as his grandfather’s commercial printing work evolved from analog to digital production methods. But helping his grandfather get up to speed on computers and software wasn’t a one-way street; Collins’ behind-the-scenes exposure to the printing industry expanded his understanding of technology’s power. After having trouble securing a summer job while in college, just as the Dot-Com bubble was bursting, he took charge of his future using the web design skills he’d been honing since middle school.
A Strategy Pivot
With experience in Flash, web design, and computer engineering, Collins initially made a living bridging the communication gap between designers and engineers; although these roles typically had a common goal on a project, the specialized vocabulary of each field sometimes made collaboration a challenge, which is where he came in. That is until everything Flash was gone.
“I was working alongside big names at the time. Then, Steve Jobs penned an open letter that said he wouldn’t allow Flash on his mobile devices. After that, many people who were seasoned Flash developers had trouble finding work. I went nine months without being able to find work, and my family had to go on food stamps,” said Collins. “Eventually, I was like, ‘Enough is enough!’ I took my last severance and went out on my own. I made an LLC and took a ‘Fake It Till You Make It’ approach. I basically said, ‘Hey, I can build whatever you want’, and learned any updated tech I needed along the way. It worked.”
Transforming his clients’ dreams into results-driven action, Collins’ company broke seven figures for several years. But just like the demise of Flash had previously shaken his world, so did the COVID-19 pandemic, as it did for many workers.
His clients in many parts of the country faced shut-down mandates issued by state governments struggling to slow the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Using this time to pivot again, he relaunched his company as Sartoris Digital to offer his clients an expanded and inclusive menu of services and a passion for the event space and event sectors, in particular. Yet his commitment to the traditional values of excellence and integrity has not changed since his first client earned as a seventh-grader.
“When you promise something, always to the best of your ability deliver what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. That is why my customer base stayed with me. I want to make sure I don’t scare off the smaller guys that might join the digital sector,” said Collins. “There is space for everyone here; that is the beauty of it. I want to help guide people from an analog world, a brick and mortar world, and take them into a digital space where they haven’t been before.”
Ensuring an Ideal Fit
In yet another example of his merging creative communications and technical prowess, Collins used the Latin word for ‘tailor’–Sartoris–in his company name. It symbolizes his dedication to providing clients with a perfect fit for their digital marketing needs.
“Think of a men’s suit. Early on, you buy suits off the rack that never quite fit right. When you get a custom suit, however, someone takes your measurements, finds out where you need extra support, and what assets to highlight,” said Collins. “That’s the same approach we take to building software for our clients. The ‘initial fitting’ is the first client call where we take the measure of their business. We design their software and marketing to the way their business functions, to make sure they look and function at their absolute best.” With Sartoris Digital, clients never have to worry that they won’t make a positive impression on their audience.
About Sartoris Digital
Sartoris Digital is a digital media agency that specializes in paid ads, social media, custom website and software development, and SEO for major corporations and small businesses. The company has worked with Fortune 500 and 100 companies. For more information, please visit https://sartorisdigital.com.
